Team Liquid co-CEO Steve Arhancet said the organization joined the 2024 Esports World Cup in Riyadh because it believed participation would let it keep a voice in conversations about change, rather than surrender that opportunity through a boycott. He said Team Liquid weighed reputational and values-based concerns, consulted people in the region and NGOs, and would support team members who were uncomfortable taking part. That explains the organization’s stated reasoning; it does not show that attendance changed policy or conditions.
Why did Team Liquid take part?
In a GamesBeat interview published September 3, 2024, and updated June 18, 2025, Arhancet described the decision as both a professional and personal question. Team Liquid presents itself as valuing diversity, equity and inclusion, and Arhancet is gay; he said he understood the reputational and values-related stakes of competing in Saudi Arabia.
Arhancet said the organization did not want to rely only on media accounts. He described speaking with people on the ground and NGOs serving the region, naming Amnesty International and Out Leadership. He said Team Liquid considered whether a boycott or participation would better support change, then concluded that staying involved would preserve its ability to speak and engage. The interview records his account of those consultations; it does not independently evaluate them.
His rationale was engagement as a chance to nudge incremental change, not a claim that one tournament could produce immediate results. He acknowledged that critics might see Team Liquid’s presence as sportswashing—the use of sport to improve a host’s image—and said change takes time. In a public message reported by CNN on July 6, 2024, he put the argument succinctly: “Progress lies in engagement, not isolation.”
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How did Team Liquid address the concerns of its own team?
Team Liquid said it would support team members who did not feel comfortable participating. CNN reported that players were permitted to wear the team’s Pride jerseys. Arhancet also said Team Liquid wore Pride uniforms while competing in Riyadh in June and July 2024, presenting them as an example of the organization remaining itself while taking part.
Those steps are relevant to how the organization described its choice, but the available coverage does not establish that the uniforms or participation improved conditions or prompted a policy change. Nor does it settle the ethical disagreement: attending may preserve access and a platform, while also lending visibility and legitimacy to the host. The choice of individual players and staff matters alongside the organization’s rationale.
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Why did critics question participation?
The debate was not simply about whether esports can connect people. Arhancet’s case was that gaming provides common ground across cultures and that engagement keeps Team Liquid in the conversation. Critics could reasonably focus instead on the risks of lending prestige to a host through a major international event.
CNN quoted Dana Ahmed, Amnesty International’s Middle East researcher, warning: “Saudi Arabia is investing billions in esports, a field thriving on online interactions, while cracking down on any form of critical online expression with harsh prison terms and even a death sentence.” That criticism underscores the tension between the event’s global, connected image and concerns about restrictions on expression. The two sources document the disagreement and Arhancet’s reasoning; they do not demonstrate that either engagement or boycott is objectively more effective.
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Was the tournament financially necessary for Team Liquid?
Arhancet said Team Liquid had become profitable during the esports downturn before the Esports World Cup and that the event was not a lifeline. He described the capital as useful for investment in the organization’s long-term business and growth. This is his account, not an independently audited financial disclosure.
GamesBeat’s interview article reported these historical 2024 event figures. They describe that edition, not current tournament totals:
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- The event offered $60 million in prizes.
- It featured 19 games across eight weeks.
- Team Liquid earned $4 million in club-championship revenue for finishing second.
- Team Liquid recorded more than 21 million total hours watched, a viewership measure the article attributed to Esports Charts.
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GamesBeat also disclosed that the New Global Sport Conference paid for the journalist’s trip to Saudi Arabia and that GamesBeat was a media partner for the event. That disclosure is useful context for readers assessing the interview’s reporting, alongside the fact that Arhancet’s explanations are attributed statements.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What can—and cannot—be concluded from Arhancet’s explanation?
Arhancet’s explanation is that Team Liquid weighed its values and reputational exposure, consulted regional contacts and NGOs, and decided participation offered a way to retain its voice. The organization also said it would support people who were uncomfortable taking part and pointed to its Pride uniforms as a visible expression of identity at the event.
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These facts clarify the stated rationale and the choices Team Liquid reported making. The available coverage does not measure whether those choices produced social or policy change, so the interview should not be treated as evidence that engagement succeeded—or that boycott would have failed.
Team Liquid’s official About page identifies Arhancet as co-CEO and describes the organization’s work and values.
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